Agonizing Movement
by rabbitfurr
Summary: If your only two options are giving up a part of yourself or death, she would always choose the former. After giving up a piece of herself to someone else, she doubted her choice. Maybe death is more appealing. (breaks canon) (slow burn oc x chrollo)
1. the rains

The trees swayed heavily in the wind, the rain seemingly falling to the side instead of down. Sheets of water hit the pavement below like waves, the cement the likeness of an ocean. Her tired green eyes watched them, near hypnotized by the sight. The pane of glass she leaned against shuddered with the force of each gust of wind, but it didn't bother her. Her small apartment was warm, the golden glowing lights from within only slightly imparting her ability to see the rain. Her space heater whirred in the corner, the only sound other than that of the thunder and heavy downpour. She sat on the sill of her outcropped window, her head leaning against the cold glass. The sun had just slipped under the horizon, the fluorescent streetlights glowing down onto the black sea below it. She had been sitting here for however long the rain had been coming down like this; the more the thought about it the more she realized it was most likely hours. Just as she wondered if she should move, there was a slow thud of two loud knocks on her door. They startled her only slightly, and she slowly rose to her feet, adjusting herself. She tugged the bottom of her shirt over the hem of her shorts, brushing herself off ever so slightly before taking a breath. She shifted to the side of her door, leaving the bolt on and opening it to what it would allow, observing the person outside. It was true, she drew in strange characters, but this man had to take home first prize. He was tall, with almost obnoxiously vibrant orange hair, and makeup, similar to that of a clown. He wore a tight pink and white ¾ sleeved shirt, and light blue sweatpants. She was slightly surprised that someone like him hadn't worn something more extravagant.

"Are you Dust?" He asked, his voice smooth and curious. She got an uneasy feeling in her stomach when he said her name.

"Yes." She answered briskly, looking the man up and down once more.

"I've heard you offer unique services. May I come in?" He asked, politeness not lost on him. Dust considered it for a moment. This man was strong, physically and with Nen, if things went wrong she could easily have a problem with him. Nevertheless, she closed the door, unhooking the bolt, then reopening it for him. He strode inside, glancing around the room as Dust closed the door behind him, locking it. She then walked past him into her apartment, stepping into the small kitchen. She moved her kettle onto the front burner, clicking on the stove as she began heating water.

"Would you like tea, Mister…?" She inquired, her large eyes glancing up at him.

"Hisoka. No thank you." He declined.

"Then have a seat." She told him, gesturing toward the loveseat. It was sat opposite from a table, which had a single large chair on the other side. It was clearly set up for deals, where one person was talking to others. He did as she suggested, and sat down casually, crossing his legs. Dust leaned on the small island between the kitchen and the living area where he was, staring at the strange man.

"Nothing is wrong with you, mister Hisoka. Why are you here?" She questioned, having already sensed that there was no Nen attached to him other than his own. The clown smiled slightly, his golden eyes reaching hers.

"I'm here for a friend. Or rather, someone I need to be an enemy." He began explaining, interrupted by the rising howl of steam from the kettle. Dust twirled around, shutting off the flame and quickly began preparing her tea.

"You seem the type to have plenty of enemies as is." She commented, searching for her favorite mug. Hisoka chuckled, shifting slightly.

"I might, but they're not worth my time. This one is, but he has curse on his heart." He told her. Dust perked up at this, almost spilling the scalding water she poured into her cup. After carefully setting down the kettle, she looked at him.

"Oh his heart? That's rare." She furrowed her brow. How did a curse land itself in someone's heart? She'd never seen it before.

"Is it? I wouldn't know. Anyway, he can't use his Nen, and thus I can't fight him. It would be useless and dull, he's broken." Hisoka explained.

"Because of a curse? Is it indefinite?" Dust asked, picking up her warm mug of chamomile.

"Yes, as far as I know. I doubt it has an end, or he might not have told me." He confirmed. Dust was silent after this, staring down at the shaded golden liquid in her cup. A Nen ability directly on the heart, and it permanently suspends someone's Nen? She pondered if taking this would even be worth it for her. Removing a curse of that proportion might be catastrophic to her health for a large chunk of time.

"Who is it?" She finally spoke.

"Do I have to tell you?" He seemingly whined, although Dust couldn't tell if he was just teasing her or not.

"Now, yes." She took a sip of her drink. Hisoka snickered again before answering.

"His name is Chrollo." He simply answered, already predicting her response.

"I mean _who_ is he? Nobody gets a curse of that severity without being someone." She pried. Hisoka seemingly hesitated for a moment. In his mind, these were details that would be revealed eventually if she agreed, but he weighed each one before he answered as not to put her off of the contract. It would be easier for her to agree willingly before he resorted to threats.

"The head of the Ryodan." He answered again. He looked up at her when her heard her mug crack down onto the counter, the loudest noise since they started the interaction. Her wide green eyes stared at him in disbelief.

"The… what?" She murmured. Hisoka grinned again, as if his amusement of the situation was just too much. He didn't say anything, watching as Dust turned her back to him, pulling her plum hair over her shoulder. Dust now very highly considered the fact that this man would attempt to threaten her into doing the job. In every way she could think of at the moment, she was drawing the short end of the stick in this scenario. She was somewhat strong, but the man in her living room was stronger, definitely physically, and she couldn't imagine someone like him with a weak Nen ability, so fighting him was already out of the question. If she agreed, she would face the consequences for removing the Nen, and then be left to deal with it. If she was forced, she would have to deal with both the consequences of her own Nen and whatever Hisoka may do. If she ran… well, she wasn't going to run. She fast, but she wasn't about to run away because of this. All in all, there was one variable she could control. Then she had an idea. Dust turned around to face him again, seemingly having gained most of her composure back as she took another drink of her tea.

"I'll do it." She told him, her eyes glued to the countertop.

"Wonderful." Hisoka stood up. Dust could feel his aura change slightly, and it made her queasy again. "We should be off as soon as possible."

"What?" She rushed. She performed all of her exorcisms in her apartment.

"Ah, I forgot to mention, he's not here. We have to go to him." Hisoka told her calmly. Dust felt her stomach churn slightly as she immediately regretted agreeing to this. If she'd known she would've had to leave anyway, running was a much more viable option. Dust looked around her apartment, her eyes then staring at the darkness outside the window yet again. The soft pouring of the rain could still be heard, and the window wobbled slightly as she stared at it. She felt her heart well up with what she could only describe as anticipation. It wasn't excitement or fear for what she was about to do, just a morbid curiosity for what the near future will bring her. Hisoka, on the other hand, was absolutely teeming with excitement.

an: hi, it's 2 am and i'm posting this because lucid me would never. i'll try to keep this one going for once in my life, so please punch me in the face i don't. thanks for reading so far, at least!


	2. heartbeats

Dust gazed out the large windows of the airship, looking at the vast ocean below. Clouds blocked out parts, but it only added to the view. Hisoka sat next to her, silently looking out as well. They were on their way to Seiul, in southern Yorbia, according to him. The flight would take about 40 hours, since they were flying from Uuwmo, which was on the south western coast of Ochima. Dust wouldn't have been able to imagine 40 hours with Hisoka if not faced with it right now. They were already about 22 hours in, and it had been a challenge for her. From what she'd seen in the brief amount of time she'd been around him, he was an incredibly strange person. He was confident in himself to the point of seemingly not acknowledging anyone else unless they were directly engaging with him, and even if they did engage with him, it was almost painfully obvious how little he cared. She wondered vaguely about how someone even reached this level of disregard for basic decency, but her thoughts were interrupted by a stewardess.

"Excuse me ma'am, that man over there would like to speak to you." She told her, gesturing to someone a couple seats down, who was ignoring them, calmly stirring his drink. Dust looked over at Hisoka, who gave her a slightly quizzical look, shrugging.

"Alright, thank you." Dust politely told the stewardess, who smiled and walked off. Dust stood, approaching the man.

"Have a seat, please." He offered, not looking up at her. She sat next to him, examining him. He had very short grey hair, despite not being too old, maybe mid thirties. He was dressed business casual, and had heavily scarred hands.

"What do you need?" She asked bluntly.

"My employer asked that if you ever left the country, to speak to you about it." He finally glanced up at her, his eyes bored.

"You're tracking me? Why?" She questioned hastily.

"I just told you. I have nothing to do with you, my boss does." He answered. Dust huffed, since he was right.

"Who's your boss, then?" She shifted in her chair. Her pulse was up, as she purposely buried the idea of only person she could imagine following her.

"First." The man redirected. "Do whatever you need to do, and then go back to your apartment. Don't spend too much time away." He sternly said. Dust was becoming more anxious as he said this. She shifted forward on the table in front of her, purposely trying to lock eyes with him.

"Who is your employer." She harshly muttered.

"The young Mister Keary, of course." He sighed, taking a sip of his drink. Dust felt nausea rise in her for a second, stress washing over her.

"Right. Of course." She leaned back again, her eyes searching the wooden design of the table. The young Mister Keary. "Right." She said again, slightly more confident.

"He also wanted you to know that he misses you, and that he'll see you soon. Said that was important." The man drank again, finishing it off.

"It is. Um…" Dust was distracted. "Thank you for telling me." She murmured.

"Don't thank me, miss. Thank him when you see him." He looked at her once more, standing up and leaving Dust there. She could've sworn he had seemed sympathetic, but she was most likely just reading into it. She stayed at the table, tracing her finger on the smooth surface in front of her. She wondered why now, out of all of the times, that he would reach out to her. It had been six whole years, and she had been in and out of country before, but it was this time that he decided to threaten her. Although, this time things did felt a bit different. The reason she was traveling wasn't for fun or because she even wanted to, but because she was strong armed into it. He may have meant this message as a sort of "guardian angel", that he was looking out for her if she needed it, but it sounded like, and was much more likely to be, a threat. Her attention was caught by Hisoka, who had moved to sit down next to her again.

"That was interesting. What happened?" He asked, genuinely curious.

"He told me that there was someone watching me, and that I should be careful." She summarized as loosely as she could while telling the truth. She wasn't in the habit of lying too much, especially when it had the potential to make her situation worse.

"Fascinating. Will it be a problem?" He leaned forward, his head resting on the back of his hand. Dust hesitated, not knowing the answer.

"Probably not. He's usually non confrontational, so don't get too excited." She mused.

"Oh so you know him? Even better." He smirked. She _supposed_ it was better than if it was mystery man following her, but she doubted that was what he meant. Plus, since it had been so long, it might as well be a mystery man. She had no idea what he'd been up to since she'd been gone.

"For you, maybe. But like I said, it doesn't matter. You're not fighting him, so leave it alone." She pursed her lips slightly.

"You make it seem like he's someone I'd be interested in. It's only making me more curious, you know." He playfully cooed. "No matter. Right now I'm more focused on you meeting the Boss. His curse is the only thing stopping us from finally fighting." An excited grin stretched across his face as his imagination ran wild. The "Boss", Dust recalled. She had almost forgotten about their destination, her mind having been wrapped up in the present. The leader of the Genei Ryodan, a man of undeniable power and influence. It gave her goosebumps just to think about what he would be like. He would probably be frightening at first glance, or at the very least incredibly strong. Or maybe not, when she thought about it more. Thieves were usually not obviously thieves, since it would get in the way of their… thieving. Still, she couldn't shake the image of a big hulking man out of her head.

"What are his abilities?" Dust suddenly asked.

"Oh? Suddenly curious?" Hisoka teased. Dust clenched her jaw slightly, his antics frustrating her. "He's a Specialist, but that's all I'll tell you." He waved his hand slightly in the air.

"Why? What's there to hide? I'll be meeting him won't I?" She interrogated.

"If he wants to tell you himself, he will. I don't wanna make him too mad before we fight, or he might leave again." He pouted. Dust would've pressed him, but that was fair. If Hisoka had gone through this much work just to fight one person, it made sense that he wouldn't be too keen on saying things that might jeopardize his plan.

The two of them chatted about… nothing, really. Any important topics were redirected by the clown, and most personal topics were redirected by the girl. So they talked about countries, momentarily about the Zoldyck family, which Hisoka had several interesting ties to, and about fighting. The sun had set by the time they left the common area, retiring to their room. Of course they shared a room, as Hisoka had her on a tight leash.

"You're sleeping there." Dust pointed towards the large chair in the corner of the room.

"Can't we just share?" Hisoka smiled, already predicting her reaction.

"Nice try, clown." Dust quickly shot, walking over to the bed and pulling the sheets back. She took off her boots and light jacket, plopping down with a huff. She ran her fingers through her dark purple hair, already too tired to get her brush. As she laid against the cushioned headboard, she had already come to the conclusion that she would murder Hisoka if he made a single move towards the bed. He didn't, however, simply going and sitting in the chair, beginning to play with his deck of cards. Dust pulled the comforter onto herself as she curled up, drifting off to sleep in a matter of minutes.

Dust heard Hisoka's voice, but didn't hear anything he said. It awoke her enough so that when she sensed something coming towards her, her arm moved on it's own, catching the playing card that had been thrown between her fingers. Dust enjoyed peaceful mornings as much as the next person, so when this was the way he chose to wake her up, she was definitely not pleased. She shifted into a sitting position, her tousled hair falling in her face. She stared at the card for a couple of moments before looking up at Hisoka.

"What the hell." Her drowsy voice murmured.

"We're almost there." Hisoka repeated. Dust turned and looked at the clock. 5:42 AM. She let out a deep sigh, rubbing her eyes.

"Did you sleep at all?" She asked, crawling forward on the bed, grabbing her jacket.

"Are you worried about me?" He returned playfully, watching her shrug on her coat.

"Not in the slightest. You didn't sleep at all the other night, so I was curious if you had evolved beyond rest." She joked, although her tone was serious.

"I slept a couple of hours, it's hard to rest when I'm so excited." He happily mused.

"You're like a kid on Feast's Eve." She muttered, pulling her boots on and lacing them up.

"What?"

"Huh?" They glanced at each other.

"Do you not…? Feast Day?" Dust vaguely questioned, still groggy.

"No." Hisoka answered, understanding what she was asking.

"Oh. Forget it." She exhaled.

" _As we arrive at our destination, Seiul, Yorbia, please remember to take all of your positions, and leave your rooms as clean as possible. If you have children…_ " The intercom continued to drone on, but Dust drowned it out. She stretched into the air as she stood up, walking over to the closet and grabbing her bag. As she did so she realized Hisoka had little to no possessions other than what he had on him. She figured it was because he had planned on getting this done quickly and didn't need it, but it was still weird in her opinion. The two of them left the room, walking towards where they needed to be as the airship landed. Dust looked at all of the normal people around her, wondering what each of their lives were like. Why were they traveling large distances? To see relatives? To start a new life? What new life could there be for the majority of people? Just the same things, new places. She didn't really understand, never having experienced life like that.

They walked through the airport, then finally out into the city. Dust had never been to Seiul before, but she had seen it in pictures. The whole thing was on hills, the streets incredibly steep, all leading down to the bay to the south. The buildings were all different colors, causing the city to look like a strange painting. Most of the structures had staircases to the entrances, as the very harsh angles made it difficult to build. Even the business and industrial districts were like this, causing the city to be renowned for it architectural design. It was beautiful, the breeze coming from off the bay resulting in near upward gusts towards the mountains to the north.

"He knows we're coming, I called him when you were sleeping a couple days ago." Hisoka interrupted her sight seeing. Dust didn't know why she was slightly surprised that Hisoka had called him. It only made sense that they wouldn't want to just arrive without warning, but she couldn't help but be curious. What did Hisoka say about her? Probably nothing, just that she was an exorcist. What else would have been important enough to say? Why was this stressing her out so much? They walked for quite a while, slowly making their way out of downtown, and into the residential area. It had taken a little while, as walking from one side to the city was time consuming, as would be expected.

"Why don't we just drive?" Dust asked, gazing at the array of colored apartments that they passed.

"You have to have a certain permit to drive in Seiul. The hills are dangerous, so you need to take an extra test." Hisoka explained. "I haven't gotten around to it." He admitted.

As Dust looked around at the houses, each one of them unique and seemingly a different color than any that she had seen previously. Dust wondered if the leader of the Ryodan genuinely lived in a place like this. It seemed strange, she couldn't imagine it. Eventually they approached a lilac townhouse, with a small yard of green grass and bright white flowers in front of it. This was a nice part of town, not where a thief king would be expected to hide out. Dust was even more out of her element than she had expected to be. They approached the door, Hisoka knocking casually. As Dust heard footsteps approach, her heart began to race. She knew what her job was, but she couldn't shake the feeling that this wasn't going to go the way she expected it to. Everything was different from what she had imagined up until now, so if it kept on that track, this was going to be one hell of an ordeal.

an: it's longer than the first chapter, and i hope it's a little more interesting. the third chapter should be soon. thanks again for reading .3.


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